Jump to content

Top OC hire in SEC West


aubiefifty

Recommended Posts

AL.com All-Access: Who made the best offensive coordinator hire in the SEC West?

Creg Stephenson | cstephenson@al.com

There's been a lot of turnover in the assistant coach ranks in the SEC this offseason, nowhere more so than at offensive coordinator in the SEC West.

Four of the seven schools will have new men running their offenses this fall, which seems like an astoundingly high number for a division that had only one change at head coach. So who made the best hire?

Here's how I would rank them:

1. Matt Canada, LSU -- When Lane Kiffin decided he'd rather be a head coach than an offensive coordinator, Canada was the best assistant coach available over the offseason. His offenses put up huge numbers at Pittsburgh, which was the only FBS school to score at least 28 points in every game last year (not to mention, the only team to beat Clemson). Canada inherits a mixed bag at quarterback at LSU, but tons of playmakers everywhere else.

2. Chip Lindsey, Auburn -- Gus Malzahn has promised to put away his clipboard and let his new offensive coordinator run things. If that's true, Lindsey has a chance to be a rousing success. He helped Nick Mullens become a star at Southern Miss, and will have an even more-talented quarterback to direct his offense at Auburn in Jarrett Stidham. However, the odds remain against Malzahn meddling at some point.

3. Brian Daboll, Alabama -- Daboll has solid credentials as an NFL position coach, just not as an offensive coordinator. In all three places he ran the offense, the head coach was fired (once after his second year, twice after his first). The conventional wisdom is that Nick Saban wants to go back to a power-based scheme, and if Daboll can help facilitate that, he'll prove to be a fine hire. But this is not a slam dunk by any means.

4. Phil Longo, Ole Miss -- Longo has a chance to be an outstanding outside-the-box addition, assuming the Rebels don't clean house in the wake of their ongoing NCAA tribulation. Longo helped Sam Houston State lead the FCS in several offensive categories, and he'll have a highly touted pupil with which to work in sophomore QB Shea Patterson. Still, ringing up big numbers in the Southland Conference and in the SEC West are two different things.

So what do you think about these rankings? What changes would you make?

I'll take your questions and comments on that or anything else on your mind beginning at 10 a.m.

Link to comment
Share on other sites





Ive worked with Longo before.  He is a very good offensive mind. He has inherited a mess though. I don't know how well he will do, but that not based on his ability.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎2‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 9:34 AM, bigbird said:

Ive worked with Longo before.  He is a very good offensive mind. He has inherited a mess though. I don't know how well he will do, but that not based on his ability.

That seems to be the case all too often with coaches in big-time college football and the NFL.  They may be very good at what they do but fail to be successful due to circumstances beyond their control.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, triangletiger said:

That seems to be the case all too often with coaches in big-time college football and the NFL.  They may be very good at what they do but fail to be successful due to circumstances beyond their control.

Team sport... it's amazing how quickly people lose site of that fact, especially when they are looking for someone to blame.  You can be the best player or the best coach in the country, and if you don't have a supporting cast, you'll never live up to billing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I honestly do not think Daboll was a good hire.  He did very poorly the few times he was an offensive coordinator.  Yes, he does do pro-style offenses, which is what Saban wants, but he does not have the tools for a pro-style offense.  The down-side to Lane leaving them was that he recruited spread offense guys for up-tempo.  Stick Hurts in the pocket and not let him run, is asking for a potential disaster.  The only upside, is recruiting where Daboll can walk into a recruits home with his Super Bowl rings on. I would put Daboll fourth, in my opinion of course.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The big question is this. Will Gus keep his hands off the offense through the whole season and let Chip do what he was hired by Gus to run the offense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...